Sacrilege

 When old newspapers sit around the pages generally turn yellow.

Old artworks too suffer the ravages of time. They become dark and dingy. Sometimes they turn off-color. That happens even to the best of them.

Van Gogh is one of my favorite old greats. So when I saw an image of one of his paintings, that of a restaurant, looking quite shabby, I almost despaired.

I decided to see if I could do some restoration. Mind you, just on a digital image, I have no access to the real thing. 

I spent two or three minutes on the chore and this is what I got:

Now I can hear the shouts of "uncouth sacrilige!" "How dare you touch a masterpiece!"

Well I just wanted to admire the painting and see it the way old Vincent mght have seen it.

In todays world the real painting looks like this:

Surely that can't be what Vincent painted. A lifeless, amost monochrome scene. No, I think my version is closer to the real Van Gogh.

What do you think, dear reader?

.:. © 2025 Ludwig Keck